


Arthur Can't Pick 'Em

by AJsRandom



Series: Trope Bingo [8]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Gen, Magic Revealed, Merlin saves the day, Trapped, self-poisoning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-20
Updated: 2015-06-20
Packaged: 2018-04-05 05:33:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4167822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AJsRandom/pseuds/AJsRandom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arty & Merlin are waylaid by rain; when it stops Arthur fetches poison berries for breakfast. Fills illness/injury.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Arthur Can't Pick 'Em

Arthur sat at the mouth of the cave and watched the source of his frustration. _Rain, bah!_ He and Merlin had been driven in here two days ago by this awful downpour. It wouldn’t be so bad if he hadn’t been on a solo hunt with only his servant for company. Said servant was now sitting against the far wall of the cave, trying not to look at his master. Things were tense—a secret had been revealed and this enforced closeness hadn’t helped.

The Prince turned away and crawled over to where they’d put their gear and what little game he’d managed to bag before the rain. And that game wouldn’t last them much longer, so he prayed this weather would clear soon so they could gather more food and go home.

He crawled over to the fire to brood a bit. _The_ secret that had come out had been Merlin’s magic. While Arthur disliked the automatic death sentences his father gave sorcerers, that didn’t mean he _liked_ sorcerers. They _were_ people though, and people should have fair trials. That was one reason Merlin was still alive.

Soon enough it was dark. Arthur settled into the bedroll he’d been sitting on and addressed his servant. “I’m going to bed. If this clears up by morning then I’ll go search for food.” Merlin just nodded. Arthur pulled his blankets over himself and grudgingly thought, _well at least magic has one good use—we don’t have to search for firewood_. Merlin’s magic kept what they _did_ have burning perpetually.

As Arthur woke, he sensed something missing from the background. He opened his eyes and looked, but it wasn’t until he listened that he heard the absence of rain. _Hallelujah!_ He got quietly out of bed, put on his boots and slipped out of the cave. Merlin was still asleep.

Fortunately he was able to find fruit-bearing bushes and nut trees rather close by. These would make breakfast a veritable feast.  He picked up nuts and berries that looked like they could be blueberries, all that he could find. He put these in the game sack he’d brought along and walked back to the cave.

Merlin was awake and sitting by the fire warming himself. “What have you got there?” he asked.

“Nuts and blueberries to go along with our rabbit!” the Prince crowed. The rabbit had been cooked last night, so he went over to the pack to pull it out and warm it by the fire. He also pulled out their plates and began dividing his spoils between them. “Here you go,” he said finally, handing Merlin’s plate to him.

He grabbed a handful of blueberries and chucked them into his mouth the same time as Merlin said, “Don’t—” His face looked alarmed and his hand reached toward Arthur. But the Prince had already started chewing the berries.

“What is it?” He kept chewing the berries while Merlin looked at him in horror.

“These aren’t blueberries. They’re belladonna berries, which are extremely poisonous.

Arthur immediately stopped chewing and spat his mouthful into the fire. He tried removing them from his tongue by swiping at it with both hands. As he went for the water skin, Merlin said, “It doesn’t really matter. You’ve already swallowed their juice. Soon symptoms will set in.”

The Prince paled. “What symptoms?”

“Headache, rash, confusion, hallucinations, fever, and eventually . . . paralysis and death.”

Maybe that paralysis was already present, because Arthur couldn’t move. “How long do I have?”

“A few hours. I can maybe round up the ingredients for the cure in that time, but I don’t want to leave you alone.”

“ _Merlin_ . . .” He’d just started to sweat. “Is it hot in here?”

“Lie down.” Arthur crawled over to his bedroll. Merlin dumped the poisonous berries from his plate into the fire. He poured water from the water skin into it then tore off his neckerchief and set it in the plate. He brought all that over to where Arthur lay, wrung out the cloth and laid it on Arthur’s head.

The headache set in just then. “Merlin, don’t leave me.” He looked up at his servant. “Is there another way to cure this?”

Merlin stared back for a moment before replying. “You won’t like it.”

“Tell me.”

Merlin helped him drink some water. “I-I . . .”

“Just tell me. Is it magic?”

“Yes, there’s a spell that will heal you. But I’ve had little luck with healing spells in the past. You could still die.”

“Well, we don’t have enough time to get back to Gaius, do we?”

“No.”

“Perform the spell.”

“Are you su—?”

“If you ask me if I’m sure I’m gonna vomit on your lap. Now get it together and perform the spell!”

Merlin closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, his expression was strong and confident. He held one hand over Arthur’s stomach and one over his head. The Prince watched him as he spoke, “ _Ic hæle þina þrowunga_.” His eyes flashed that telltale gold, but Arthur didn’t feel any better.

“Wha—”

Merlin cut him off. “ _Ic hæle þina þrowunga_. **_Ic hæle þina þrowunga_**.” He said the last one more forcefully than the other times and Arthur found that his headache had faded completely. “I did it!” Merlin crowed.

“How can you tell?” Arthur tried to sit but Merlin pushed him back down.

“I felt the magic rush from me that time.” He looked down at Arthur. “You should stay there for a couple hours. You _did_ almost die.”

“Fine.” He glared at his servant. But as soon as two hours are up, we’re leaving.”

“Agreed.”

Arthur closed his eyes, but he couldn’t rest. He needed to say something first. “I-I’m sorry for how I treated you. After, you know, you first revealed your magic. I should have known you weren’t- aren’t -evil. And if you come back to Camelot with me, I won’t tell anyone.”

“’If?’ Of course I will. I’m bound to protect you. But we’ll talk about all that later. Rest or I’ll put you to sleep forcibly.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Wanna find out?” He let his eyes glow.

“All right. And Merlin?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”


End file.
